5 Reasons Why Divorce Is More Difficult For Men

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Did you know that men have a more difficult time with divorce recovery than women?

Research has shown that divorce is harder on men than on women AND generally speaking, men have more to lose in terms of both happiness and health. Here are 5 factors that contribute.

Men Avoid Grieving
Men are not apt to allow themselves to feel the sadness, vulnerability and loss of control that accompanies divorce.  Because they pride themselves in being the emotionally stronger sex, they often keep their emotions bottled up, and often resort to self destructive behaviors like drinking or harmful sexual behavior.

Lack of Emotional Connections
In marriage, men are reliant on their wives for the emotional support since women are natural caretakers. She is often their confidant, listener, friend and even therapist. Men take pride in being strong and able to handle things alone so unlike women, do not express their emotions as freely with others. This can lead to health problems including insomnia, weight loss or gain, anxiety, and depression. 

Financial Burdens
New obligations in the way of alimony, child support and supporting two households can cause much stress in balancing finances. 

Loss of Family Structure
Since most times, it is the man who leaves, so they are often the one to lose the comfort and safety of their home, the family structure and daily physical contact with their children. 

Moving Too Fast
Skipping the grieving process and connecting to themselves often leads to "getting back out there" as a way to avoid the pain and thus heal.  This often leads to troubled relationships and, more likely, divorce in their second marriage. 

Coaching is a valuable option as a safe space for opening up about the challenges experienced during this traumatic, transitional time. It can provide support for dealing with the emotional impact of divorce and a roadmap for moving forward in a healthy manner for mind, body and spirit.   
 
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